Queensland teenager finds role model in paramedic who saved her life during horrific house fire

A Queensland teenager who was about to enter her final year of high school is lucky to be alive and exceeding the expectations of doctors after surviving a horrific house fire a year ago.

Brianna Creenaune, 17, suffered burns to 60 percent of her body and was placed in an induced coma for two weeks after surviving the house fire at Wulkuraka, a suburb of Ipswich.

Smoke alarms woke the family at approximately 3.30am on Sunday, January 3, 2016.

"I just kind of got up and all I could hear was glass breaking, there was rumbling and I just kind of didn't really know what any of it was about," Ms Creenaune told A Current Affair.

Ms Creenaune has spoken of how safe she was made to feel by the paramedic who saved her life (Source: A Current Affair) ()A Current Affair were there for their most recent reunion, but the pair have met several times since the house fire (Source: A Current Affair) ()

She instinctively ran for the front door, not realising the whole house was about to be engulfed by flames.

"I basically just tried to get out through the gate, but it had melted shut and so I turned around. But as I was making my way back inside, something fell from the roof on to my head and the back of my shirt just lit up on fire," she said.

Brianna's mother, Robyn Thomas, quickly ripped the shirt off and rushed her out the back of the house to a kennel, where she poured water all over her.

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"I've gone around the corner and there's Bree, on fire. So at that point, my brain was, 'this isn't real, this can't be happening'," Ms Thomas said.

"I didn't allow myself, at any point actually, to (think) that she would die. It was about doing what was necessary to save her."

Ms Creenaune was in an induced come for two weeks (Source: A Current Affair) ()The scars from her burns not long after she left hospital (Source: A Current Affair) ()

Paramedic Steven Kilese and his partner were the first people on the scene.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Mr Kilese said.

"As we got close to the house, we saw people waving and flagging us around the back of the house to a shed and as we pulled up at the shed, you could see young Brianna crouched in the shed."

"I thought of a lot of things in the back of my mind as I was treating her. I have a 16-year-old daughter myself and thinking I've got to do the best I can for this young lady."

Ms Creenaune was placed in an induced coma when she arrived at the hospital.

Amazingly, the Queensland 17-year-old managed to graduate high school at the same time as her friends (Source: A Current Affair) ()Ms Creenaune has undergone countless surgeries and still has more to go (Source: A Current Affair) ()

When she finally woke up two weeks later, her injuries were extensive.

"When I had a bath, one of the sterile baths, I remember looking over and seeing my arms and just like crying out, 'cause I was like, it was red and I just thought like, it was so ugly and I just felt horrified at what had happened," she said.

But her recovery has been nothing short of a miracle.

Despite burns to her whole back, face, arms and legs, and having two toes amputated, she left hospital a month ahead of schedule.

She has had countless surgeries and has many more to go, but still managed to graduate high school at the same time as her friends.

Her most-recent reunion with the paramedic who helped save her life was recorded by A Current Affair.

"I can't even put into words or thank him enough for what he did," Ms Creenaune said prior to their reunion.

"What he did afterwards, because he didn't have to come and visit or say all the things he did. But, you know, he's really become a big role model in my life now."

The raging fire at the property near Ipswich (Source: A Current Affair) ()The fire's aftermath (Source: A Current Affair) ()

Mr Kilese was excited to see Ms Creenaune too.

"Look at her. This young lady is an inspiration to all. What she's been through, her family, it's just unbelievable. She's incredible," he said.

"I felt safe, I guess, and you just kept explaining things and telling me what was going on. So it was absolutely traumatising, but I felt safe and comfortable with you," she responded.

Mr Kilese is certain his new friend will have a bright future given all that she has already had to overcome.

"It's been a remarkable journey, she's a remarkable young lady and I think whatever she decides to do in her life, she will make a success of it for sure," he said.